Permission Groups Discovery: Domain Groups
Other sub-techniques of Permission Groups Discovery (3)
| ID | Name |
|---|---|
| T1069.001 | Local Groups |
| T1069.002 | Domain Groups |
| T1069.003 | Cloud Groups |
Adversaries may attempt to find domain-level groups and permission settings. The knowledge of domain-level permission groups can help adversaries determine which groups exist and which users belong to a particular group. Adversaries may use this information to determine which users have elevated permissions, such as domain administrators.
Commands such as net group /domain of the Net utility, dscacheutil -q group on macOS, and ldapsearch on Linux can list domain-level groups.
Procedure Examples
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Dragonfly 2.0 |
Dragonfly 2.0 used batch scripts to enumerate administrators and users in the domain.[8] |
| dsquery |
dsquery can be used to gather information on permission groups within a domain.[1] |
| FIN6 |
FIN6 has used tools like Adfind to query users, groups, organizational units, and trusts.[10] |
| GRIFFON |
GRIFFON has used a reconnaissance module that can be used to retrieve Windows domain membership information.[4] |
| Helminth |
Helminth has checked for the domain admin group and Exchange Trusted Subsystem groups using the commands |
| Inception |
Inception has used specific malware modules to gather domain membership.[12] |
| Ke3chang |
Ke3chang performs discovery of permission groups |
| Kwampirs |
Kwampirs collects a list of domain groups with the command |
| Net |
Commands such as |
| OilRig |
OilRig has used |
| OSInfo |
OSInfo specifically looks for Domain Admins and power users within the domain.[7] |
| POWRUNER |
POWRUNER may collect domain group information by running |
| Turla |
Turla has used |
| Wizard Spider |
Wizard Spider has used |
Mitigations
This type of attack technique cannot be easily mitigated with preventive controls since it is based on the abuse of system features.
Detection
System and network discovery techniques normally occur throughout an operation as an adversary learns the environment. Data and events should not be viewed in isolation, but as part of a chain of behavior that could lead to other activities, such as Lateral Movement, based on the information obtained.
Monitor processes and command-line arguments for actions that could be taken to gather system and network information. Remote access tools with built-in features may interact directly with the Windows API to gather information. Information may also be acquired through Windows system management tools such as Windows Management Instrumentation and PowerShell.
References
- Microsoft. (n.d.). Dsquery. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
- Savill, J. (1999, March 4). Net.exe reference. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
- Sardiwal, M, et al. (2017, December 7). New Targeted Attack in the Middle East by APT34, a Suspected Iranian Threat Group, Using CVE-2017-11882 Exploit. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
- Namestnikov, Y. and Aime, F. (2019, May 8). FIN7.5: the infamous cybercrime rig “FIN7” continues its activities. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- Unit 42. (2017, December 15). Unit 42 Playbook Viewer. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
- Symantec Security Response Attack Investigation Team. (2018, April 23). New Orangeworm attack group targets the healthcare sector in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
- Symantec Security Response. (2016, September 6). Buckeye cyberespionage group shifts gaze from US to Hong Kong. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
- US-CERT. (2018, March 16). Alert (TA18-074A): Russian Government Cyber Activity Targeting Energy and Other Critical Infrastructure Sectors. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
- Villeneuve, N., Bennett, J. T., Moran, N., Haq, T., Scott, M., & Geers, K. (2014). OPERATION “KE3CHANG”: Targeted Attacks Against Ministries of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
- McKeague, B. et al. (2019, April 5). Pick-Six: Intercepting a FIN6 Intrusion, an Actor Recently Tied to Ryuk and LockerGoga Ransomware. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- Falcone, R. and Lee, B.. (2016, May 26). The OilRig Campaign: Attacks on Saudi Arabian Organizations Deliver Helminth Backdoor. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
- Symantec. (2018, March 14). Inception Framework: Alive and Well, and Hiding Behind Proxies. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- Goody, K., et al (2019, January 11). A Nasty Trick: From Credential Theft Malware to Business Disruption. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
- Faou, M. (2020, May). From Agent.btz to ComRAT v4: A ten-year journey. Retrieved June 15, 2020.